WCU vs. Saint Anselm National Championship Game - Full Replay
West Chester Post-Game Press Conference
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – It was seven years in the making, but West Chester University's field hockey team sits atop the Division II world once again.
Marre Corver (Aarlanderveen, The Netherlands) and Katie Thompson (Washington, N.J./Warren Hills) scored early, and the Golden Rams then turned to their defense to bring home the school's seventh national title in school history and third at the Division II level with a 2-1 victory over Saint Anselm inside Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium Sunday afternoon.
West Chester (20-1) picked up its first national championship since winning back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012. Saint Anselm (20-3) was playing in the national championship game for the first time in program history. With the win, the Golden Rams remain perfect in national title games in the sport of field hockey at 7-0 – counting the four Division I titles in the 1970s.
"This is our family. We call it a Ram-ily," ninth-year West Chester head coach Amy Cohen said. "Not that it's any different from any other year, but tragedy sometimes brings you closer together as a group, and they were willing to do whatever it took to get themselves a national championship."
Corver tipped a shot from Kat Roncoroni (Lebanon Twp., N.J./Voorhees [American Univ.]) past Saint Anselm goalkeeper Julia Hand in the ninth minute to put West Chester on top early. Thompson then doubled that lead with the eventual game-winner in the 12th minute on a reverse chip to the opposite side of the cage while falling to the ground.
"I didn't see (the goal)," Thompson explained. "I remember hitting it and then turning my head away from the goal as I fell. I just saw that open lane, and knew I had to shoot."
The Hawks battled back late in the first half when they took advantage of six straight penalty corner opportunities, finally breaking through with just seven seconds left in the half.
However, that was all that the Golden Rams' stingy defense and freshman goalkeeper were willing to allow, shutting out the Hawks in the second half en route to the victory.
"We knew that it was very important to get that first goal," junior back Marre Corver said in describing her tally nine minutes into the contest. "I saw the shot from Kat and knew that I had to touch it."
Saint Anselm found themselves in an unfamiliar position when the Golden Rams scored the first two goals of the game in the first quarter. However, a goal right before halftime lifted the Hawks' spirits and led to a very competitive and even-played second half.
"I thought the team was playing well," Saint Anselm head coach Carolyn King-Robitaille said afterwards about her players' resilience to get back into the game. "On an offensive corner, sometimes (the opponent) scores. And when the (potential) player of the year (Katie Thompson) takes a reverse hit in open space like that, she is going to convert. I didn't feel like we were being outplayed. Resiliency has been key this year."
Claire Nielsen (Wescosville, Pa./Emmaus) made three saves to pick up her 20th win of the season and backstop her teammates to the win.
"We call her our baby goalie," Cohen remarked about her freshman in the cage. "We gained a goalkeeper from Emmaus. Emmaus is a perennial powerhouse in the (high school) field hockey world. Having a backstop like her really helped us."
